Playing XI of PBKS vs GT: It is a grand affair at the PCA Stadium as two teams who have had a rare slump in their ongoing campaign after a boisterous start will be colliding with each other in what is going to be perfect tone-setter for the upcoming weekend. The Gujarat Titans have stepped foot in Punjab for the first time, hoping to prise out what can be a significant result against the Punjab Kings to propel their campaign. After two wins from three games for both the sides, a defeat in this fixture can lead them to some serious trouble.
As we talk about the various permutations and combinations of the playing XI of both sides, there are a few speculations about how things are going to pan out particularly after the defeats in their preceding fixture. The Gujarat Titans managed to take the encounter against the Kolkata Knight Riders almost to the finish line and were just an inch away from the hallowed grounds when Rinku Singh chose to call his own shots against a hapless Yash Goyal and then there was magic.
Punjab Kings, on the contrary, were completely outran, outgunned and outclassed in what was a superlative display from the resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad and there wasn’t any hope of a save for the Dhawan-led army despite a phenomenal knock of 99 for the captain himself. Thanks to that knock from Dhawan, at least that allowed the Punjab Kings to stay in the hunt or it could have been a humiliating affair for the Kings.
With so many things to consider, with so many incidents bombarding the two teams in a very short span of time, a few discussions would obviously be doing the hallowed rounds in the dressing room. In an attempt to decode what possible could have been the discussions, here are the probable playing XI for the Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.
Probable Playing XI of PBKS vs GT:
Punjab Kings:
Shikhar Dhawan(C), Shahrukh Khan, SM Curran, LS Livingstone, P Simran Singh, JM Sharma(wk), RD Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, K Rabada
With the return of Liam Livingstone, Punjab would be hoping to turn their batting tide in dramatic fashion. The presence of the English star bolsters their hard-hitting prowess and that also helps them to get in the groove in what can be an eye for a bigger total on the cards with names like Dhawan, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma to follow suit.
Their bowling department is also nicely set up through the mysterious likes of Nathan Ellis and Rahul Chahar while the pace duo of Nathan Ellis and Arshdeep Singh can be a real game-changer.
Gujarat Titans:
Shubman Gill, HH Pandya(C), Sai Sudharsan, DA Miller, Vijay Shankar, R Tewatia, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Rashid Khan, M Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore
With Yash Goyal going for a few runs in that final over, Gujarat Titans may opt to provide some rest to the youngster but as things stand, they will be banking heavily upon their well-oiled batting unit. With the return of Hardik Pandya, Yash Goyal’s availability as pacer would be taken care of.
They have a strong base of all-rounders that come forth in the form of Rashid Khan, Hardik Pandya and Rahul Tewatia. More importantly, with Sai Sudarshan in form, they have a real good top-order which can prove to be the unravelling for the Punjab Kings.
